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Trust and Distrust Definitions: One Bite at a Time

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Trust in Cyber-societies

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 2246))

Abstract

Researchers have remarked and recoiled at the literature confusion regarding the meanings of trust and distrust. The problem involves both the proliferation of narrow intra-disciplinary research definitions of trust and the multiple meanings the word trust possesses in everyday use. To enable trust researchers to more easily compare empirical results, we define a cohesive set of conceptual and measurable constructs that captures the essence of trust and distrust definitions across several disciplines. This chapter defines disposition to trust (and -distrust) constructs from psychology and economics, institution-based trust (and -distrust) constructs from sociology, and trusting/distrusting beliefs, trusting/distrusting intentions, and trust/distrust-related behavior constructs from social psychology and other disciplines. Distrust concepts are defined as separate and opposite from trust concepts. We conclude by discussing the importance of viewing trust and distrust as separate, simultaneously operating concepts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Accounting and Information Systems Department The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, Michigan State University, 48824-1121, East Lansing, MI, USA

    D. Harrison McKnight

  2. Information and Decision Sciences Department Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, 55455, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Norman L. Chervany

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  1. D. Harrison McKnight
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Group of Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive and Interacting Modelling, National Research Council, Institute for Cognitive Science and Technology, Viale Marx 15, 00137, Rome, Italy

    Rino Falcone

  2. Department of Computer Science, North Carolina State University, 940 Main Campus Drive, Suite 110, 27606, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Munindar Singh

  3. Department of Economics and Business Administration, Free University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081, HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Yao-Hua Tan

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Harrison McKnight, D., Chervany, N.L. (2001). Trust and Distrust Definitions: One Bite at a Time. In: Falcone, R., Singh, M., Tan, YH. (eds) Trust in Cyber-societies. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 2246. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45547-7_3

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